Dragon Age: Rogue Heart
by Adams7
Summary: A novelization of the Act 2 finale. Hawke must fight to save his home and the woman he loves from the vengeful Qunari. Will contain slight M!Hawke/Isabela. First DA fic, Review Please!
1. I: Rising Tension

**A/N: I got the idea for this story recently and it wouldn't leave me alone so here it is. This is a retelling of the finale of Act 2 in DAII with some M!Hawke/Isabela because there is a serious lack of it around here. **

Dragon Age: Rogue Heart

I: Rising Tension

Hawke:

"No!" Viscount Dumar fell to his knees in front the body of his son, Seamus. Picking Seamus up tenderly and cradling in his arms, Dumar said softly, "My son; murdered in the heart of the Chantry, by those who held a sacred trust. Why?" He looked back at me, sorrow shining in his eyes. "What hope is there for this city when we fail our own so completely?"

I hesitated before replying. "Look on the bright side! At least it can't get any worse!" I thought for a moment before adding "Well, at least not today, it's pretty late."

Dumar looked back at Seamus' body. "You'll forgive me for not finding the humor in the death of my son." I noticed the viscount's shoulders were shaking before he suddenly spoke up between sobs "Hawke… please… leave me."

I looked at the weeping viscount in sadness for a moment before walking down the stairs to where Merrill, Sebastian, and Fenris were waiting for me. "Terrible," Sebastian was saying while sadly shaking his head "The viscount's own son murdered by a Chantry Mother. Will the horrors never cease?"

"The Chantry is not infallible." Fenris pointed out glumly.

"The Chantry did not do this," Sebastian replied pointedly, "It was merely one misguided Mother."

"That we know of." Fenris mumbled.

Sebastian looked at Fenris disapprovingly "Must you always be so bitter?"

"Yes."

I interceded before Sebastian could start lecturing Fenris on the importance of a positive outlook on life. "You know, I think that could have gone better."

Sebastian shook his head, "Now is not the time for levity, Hawke."

"You clearly haven't spent enough time with him." Fenris said "It's always the time for levity with Hawke."

"My, my…" I grinned at Fenris "Did Sir Broods-a-Lot just make a joke? I should mark this day on my calendar!"

Fenris raised an eyebrow. "Sir Broods-a-lot? You lack Varric's affinity with nicknames Hawke."

I shrugged "If you say so Wolfy."

"Call me Wolfy again and I will rip out your intestines."

"Does nobody care that a man has just lost his son?" Sebastian said, clearly frustrated with us.

I sighed, "Of course I care Sebastian. I liked Seamus, he was a wise young man and I'm sorry that he died but I choose honor the dead by living." I shook my head to ward off the dark thoughts that threatened to overwhelm me. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need a bath."

Merrill -who had, until this point, been staring dreamily at the statue of Andraste- immediately snapped out of her daze. "Oooh! That reminds me; Hawke, I need to wash my clothes at your house, the plumbing broke in the Alienage."

I sighed, "Again? I thought I fixed that."

"Varric says that you're not a very good plumber." Merrill stated cheerfully.

I sighed once more and turned to Fenris and Sebastian. "Could one of you please walk her down to her house and back?"

I hadn't really expected Fenris to offer to help so I wasn't surprised when Sebastian volunteered. I left Sebastian to escort Merrill back home to retrieve her clothes that needed washing and Fenris to go back to his usual brooding. The streets of nighttime Hightown were completely deserted ever since we took out the Invisible Sisters. Still, I kept one hand on my staff as a precaution; you never knew who might be lurking in the shadows at night.

* * *

><p>Isabela:<p>

"This is important! Don't interrupt with your selfish prattle!" Aveline said firmly, walking down the steps in Hawke's mansion after having looked for Hawke in his room.

I glared at the goody-two-shoes Guard-Captain. "Get of your high horse! I have problems too!"

Aveline scoffed "Oh _really_? 'What drink should I buy?' and 'Who's the father?' "

That did it! Nobody says I don't know what drink to buy! "Why you…"

I pulled back my fist to put that stuck-up man-lady in her place when an all too familiar voice said "Oooh, catfight! Are there any good seats left?"

I spun around to see Hawke casually leaning against the doorway, a smirk painting his face and still wearing that _sexy_ armor of his.

Aveline stepped forward before I could speak "Hawke, the Arishok is sheltering two fugitives who have 'converted' to the Qun. He must be convinced to release them. He's already feared because of Peatrice, if people start thinking he's above the law-"

"I'm going to die!" I shot in before Aveline could continue. "See? Real problem!"

Hawke frowned at us in confusion. "I hear 'Arishok' and 'die'. What's this about?"

"You remember the relic? The one Castillion is going to kill me over? A man named Wall-Eyed Sam has it."

"I'm trying to keep the city from rioting against the Qunari!" Aveline said angrily.

"Well…" I shuffled my feet nervously "_Maybe_ it's connected."

"_What_?" Hawke and Aveline managed to say at the same time.

"It's important to somebody alright?" I said quickly.

"So _now_ you get responsible?" Aveline groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Shit."

"Are you sure it's the relic?" Hawke asked.

I nodded, "I've had my ear to the ground for awhile. There was a description of the book, it's the right one."

Hawke frowned "Book? I thought you didn't know what the relic was?"

I mentally kicked myself for the slip-up. "Well I… I know it's a book, but that's all I know, it's written in a foreign tongue." I changed tactics and approached Hawke, lowering my voice seductively. "Does it matter? I believe I owe you a kiss when you get me the relic."

Hawke's eyes lit up. "We get the relic first."

Aveline frowned. "Hawke, are you sure…?" she stopped when Hawke promptly growled at her. "Alright, Hawke." Aveline sighed. "It's your decision."

Hawke nodded and turned back to me. "Isabela, go get Fenris and meet me and Varric at the Hanged Man." He then started to walk out the door when he stopped. "Oh, that reminds me. Bodahn!"

Hawke's little dwarven servant appeared. "Yes messere?"

"Sebastian is bringing Merrill over for her to do laundry. Can you make sure he sticks around to escort her back home?"

"Of course ser." Bodahn bowed.

"Sam is meeting Tevinters tonight in a Lowtown foundry to sell it." I said, heading for the door. "We better hurry if we want to catch him in time."

* * *

><p>Hawke:<p>

"And then Hawke blew the door off its hinges and…" Varric stopped recounting his wild tale to an intently listening crowd when he saw me enter the Hanged Man. "I guess we'll finish this later."

The crowd dispersed as I approached the dwarven storyteller. "Have you got a minute Varric?"

"Yeah, I've actually have been meaning to talk to you." Varric said. "I hear that you and Rivani have something going."

I frowned; I had a bad feeling about where this was going. "And? What's your point?"

Varric sighed "Listen, Hawke, I know that you care about Isabela but as your friend, I feel like I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't warn you. Isabela is a great girl but I'm worried that if you pursue this, you'll get hurt."

I opened my mouth to allay Varric's fears with a witty remark when a familiar voice said behind me, "Are, you ready to go?"

I turned around and grinned at Isabela as she entered the bar with the ever-broody Fenris in tow. "Almost, I was just about to ask Varric if he wanted to tag along so he can accurately retell the story about how the dashing Hawke returned the priceless relic to the beautiful pirate captain."

Isabela grinned mischievously while Varric rolled his eyes. "I think I'm starting to rub off on you Hawke."

* * *

><p>Sebastian:<p>

I strained under the weight of Merrill's dirty laundry bag. I had chivalrously offered to carry Merrill's clothes for her as any gentleman should and I was now starting to sorely regret it. I breathed a sigh of relief as Hawke's mansion came into view. I trailed behind the perky elf as she ran up to the door and lightly rapped it with her knuckles.

The door was opened by a cheerful dwarf "Ah, Lady Merrill, Ser Hawke said you'd be coming."

My knees started to buckle under the weight of the laundry. "Could somebody… Please…"

"Oh of course Sebastian!" Merrill said as she effortlessly lifted the bag from my shoulders. I watched in amazement as Merrill slung the bag over her shoulders like it weighed nothing.

"Well," I said, massaging my shoulders. "If there's nothing else I'll just be…"

"Actually Ser Hawke said that since he had business to attend to you would need to stay to escort Miss Merrill back home." Bodahn said plainly.

I nodded dejectedly, "Of course."

I followed Merrill into the washroom. "Um… Sebastian?"

"Yes Merrill?" I asked politely.

"Hawke… normally helps me with the laundry but… since he's not here… could you please?" Merrill asked with those big, innocent, eyes.

Part of me wanted to say no but the years of service and self-sacrifice in the Chantry won out. "Of course I will." I said, removing my gauntlets

Merrill's eyes lit up as she smiled "Oh, good! I have so much trouble with the bloodstains!" she said as she dumped the contents of the bag out next to the washbasin.

"I'm sure it's not…" My voice trailed off as I realized that _all_ of her clothes were covered in bloodstains. It was going to be a long night.

**A/N: How did you like the first chapter of Rogue Heart? I thought that having Sebastian and Merrill interact would be interesting. Review Please!**


	2. II: Betrayal

**A/N: A huge thanks goes to you: the reader, for giving this story a chance. I am aware that the last chapter wasn't very good (though I'm glad I at least made Cally Starkiller laugh) and I hope that I can do better in the future. I'm going to deviate from the game's plot slightly in order to make the story more interesting.**

II: Betrayal

Hawke:

I aimed the red crystal orb on the tip of my staff at the Sten, coating him in a thick layer of ice. I then ducked as an Ashaad hurled a spear at my skull. Using the mana I had that was not maintaining the ice prison encasing the Sten, I fired a bolt of lightning at the Ashaad, frying its brain. That last spell cost more than I anticipated however, and the ice coating the Sten started to thaw.

I snarled as I threw up a shield of light to ward off another spear hurled by a different Ashaad. "_Fenris_!"

"I'm kind of busy Hawke!" Fenris cried from where he was currently wrestling a Karashok.

I released the magic holding the Sten before it drained me and took a step back to quickly survey the battle. We had been ambushed by a Qunari squad outside the warehouse where Sam was meeting the Tevinters. They had commanded Isabela to hand over the relic, to which Isabela had said, in slightly less polite terms, she didn't have it. It was then that the Qunari had the _brilliant_ idea of attacking us. Currently, Isabela was dancing gracefully among a group of Karashoks who were trying in vain to stab her with their spears while Varric picked off any stray Ashaads one by one from the shadows.

I turned my attention back to the now thawed Sten. I pulled a lyrium potion from my belt and drained it in one gulp before rolling out of the way as the Sten charged me. I raised my hand and a large brick nearby rose into the air. The Sten raised his shield to block the brick but it was in vain. I merely smirked and the hurled the brick into the Sten's foot. The Sten cried out in pain as the brick made contact with its target. He dropped his sword and shield, grabbing his bleeding foot while comically hopping on the other. I grinned and pointed my staff at the Sten. Before he could react, I fired a bolt of lightning at the Qunari's head, killing him instantly.

I was so busy reveling in my victory that I didn't see the javelin flying toward me until it buried itself in my shoulder. I cried out as I fell to the ground, berating myself for being so careless. I pulled the javelin out of my shoulder and locked my gaze on the Ashaad who threw it. I felt magic well up inside of me along with my anger. Using my good arm, I pointed my staff at the Ashaad and a white glyph appeared on his chest. The Ashaad looked down at the glyph then back up at me with wide eyes before he exploded from the inside, body parts and blood flying everywhere.

I got to my feet and examined the wound in my shoulder. It wasn't very wide but it was deep. I could use a poultice but the healing would take time without magic. I couldn't resist smirking at that; _"__Without__magic.__" __Hah!_

I reached into the Fade, calling on spirits to heal me. I raised my hand to my shoulder and a faint blue light enveloped the wound. I sighed in relief as I felt the muscle and tissue in my shoulder knit back together. I turned my attention back to the battlefield. Fenris had finally remembered that he could punch through people with a glowing fist and he had killed the Karashok he was grappling. Varric had emerged from the shadows; having killed all the remaining Ashaads and Isabela was standing amidst a pile of dead Qunari, all with their necks slit.

"If the Arishok asks why we killed his men," I said, gesturing to the dead Qunari "We'll tell him it was an accident."

Isabela shuffled her feet and seemed to be looking at anything but me. "Er… Yes… About that…" She took a deep breath and forced herself to meet my gaze. "The relic belongs to the Qunari and there's a _small_ chance they want it back."

Anger flared up inside me as the full implications of what she just said sank in. "Do the Qunari _look_ like the sharing type to you? _Of__course_ they want it back!"

Isabela winced "I don't understand why it's such a big deal. It's just some silly book written by some philosopher of theirs; Keslan, I think. Or was it Cousland?"

Fenris cocked his head to one side inquisitively. "Koslun, perhaps?"

Isabela nodded, "That's the one."

I could practically see Fenris' hair stand on end as he snarled. "The father of their race? The founder of their religion? _That_ Koslun?"

Isabela nodded proudly, "Yep."

"YOU IDIOT!" Fenris snapped "THET TEXT WOULD BE SACRED BEYOND MEASURE!"

Isabela backed away from Fenris' tirade. Cautiously, I stepped between the enraged elf and the guilty pirate. "Easy Wolfy, let's just-"

"DON'T CALL ME WOLFY!" Fenris barked.

"The relic is the only thing that will keep Castillion from feeding me to the sharks." Isabela pleaded, "Please, tell me you'll give me the relic."

I glanced at Isabela, her eyes wide and pleading, then I looked at Fenris, his eyes narrowed and burning with a ferocious fire. "We'll need to get the relic first." I said quickly.

Isabela and Fenris both nodded resignedly and moved toward the warehouse door. I hung back when I noticed Varric looking at me with concern. "What is it Varric?"

"You're not going to give Rivaini the relic." It wasn't a question.

I shook my head, "I don't know Varric. Part of me wants to give her the relic so she'll be safe from Castillion but the other part of me knows that if I do that then the situation with the Qunari will only get worse."

Before Varric could respond, Isabela called from the door, "Quit loitering and get over here!"

I sighed and jogged over to the warehouse door with Varric in tow. I gave a nod to Isabela to start working on the lock and the pirate managed to unlock the door within five seconds. Cautiously, we entered the dimly lit warehouse. The layout of the warehouse was the same as every other warehouse not on the docks. Hearing voices, I raised my hand, signaling everyone else to stop while Isabela and I crept forward to investigate.

"You said you would pay me 300 sovereigns!" a curiously squeaky male voice was saying.

"I said I would pay you handsomely," another voice said, this one deep and female. "That does not I will spend such a ridiculous price!"

"It's not ridiculous!" the squeaky voice replied as Isabela and I crept around the corner.

Standing in the center of the warehouse was a tall, female mage in extravagant robes, flanked by several fully armored guards bearing the emblem of Tevinter on their shields. Standing opposite them was a thin man with long, lanky legs, his eyes spaced far apart. His clothes were filthy and torn, and in his hands was a rather large old book.

"You're lucky I'm paying you at all." The mage said angrily "I could always just kill you and take the book."

The filthy man –Sam I assumed- gulped. "F-Fair enough, so how about we discuss a suitable pr-" Sam stiffened and for a moment I was worried he had seen us when I noticed the group of Qunari entering the warehouse through the back door.

The lead Qunari, a large brute wielding a giant battleaxe, stepped forward as the mage and her guards spun to face the Qunari."The Tome of Koslun will not fall into Tevinter hands!"

"Oh, _really_?" the mage mocked as she unlimbered her staff. "Try and stop us!" with that she hurled a poorly aimed fireball at the Qunari and chaos erupted.

Letting out a battle cry, the Qunari charged at the Tevinters as the mage's guards drew their weapons and took a protective formation around the mage. The warehouse became full of the sound of metal clashing on metal as the two forces collided. My focus was not on the clashing foes, however. Wall-Eyed Sam was backing toward a suspiciously ordinary wall. Sam kicked a small tile on the wall, causing a hidden door to swing open that Sam ran through, making his escape.

"Shit! He's getting away!" Isabela rushed out from the shadows, exposing herself, and ran after Sam through the hidden door.

"Isabela, wait!" I called as I sprinted after her.

* * *

><p>Sebastian:<p>

I wiped the sweat from my brow before resuming my attempts to get rid of a particularly stubborn bloodstain. "Merrill?" I asked as I finally cleaned the bloodstain off of the robe, tossing it into the small pile of clean clothes that was dwarfed by the giant pile of filthy clothing. I sighed as I grabbed another bloodstained robe from the pile; _only__three__thousand__more__to__go._"How is it that you have so many clothes that are _exactly_ alike?"

Merrill looked up from where she was scrubbing a bloody shirt furiously. "Oh, I make them!"

I looked at Merrill in bewilderment, "_All_ of them?"

Merrill beamed, "Mahariel taught me how to sow, its fun!"

I regretfully couldn't hide the disbelief in my voice. "With all due respect Merrill, are you saying that the Hero of Ferelden, vanquisher of the Fifth Blight, slayer of the Archdemon, Warden-Commander and most importantly, a _man_ taught you how to sow?"

Merrill cocked her head to one side and looked at me curiously. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

I whooped uncharacteristically and pumped my fists in the air. "_YES_! Take _that_ Fenris! It is _so_ not girly!" I suddenly realized that Merrill was looking at me with wide eyes. "Er… Sorry," I said sheepishly while lowering my arms to my sides. "That was uncharacteristically rude of me."

"Oh, no, don't apologize!" Merrill said enthusiastically, "It's fascinating when you show actual emotion!"

I looked at the cheery elf in confusion. "Um… Thank you?"

"You're welcome!" Merrill replied happily before returning to work.

I was t go back to washing when something Merrill had said finally sank in. "What do you mean by me showing _actual_ emotion?"

* * *

><p>Hawke:<p>

I rushed through the twists and turns of the narrow escape tunnel. I didn't slow my pace, even when the tunnel slanted sharply upward and the floor turned to stairs. I rushed up the steps, taking them three at a time. At the top of the steps I could see a door hanging off its hinges. I sprinted as fast as I could up the steps and through the doorway…

…straight into open air. I cried out in alarm as I practically soared through the air over a narrow alleyway to a roof below. I rolled as I landed and took a moment to locate Isabela and Sam. I saw a flash of white and turned my head so fast my neck cracked. There, jumping down to street level via a pile of crates, Isabela was still chasing after Sam. I was about to follow her when I noticed that they were heading into a maze of narrow alleyways. There was no way I could follow them through there.

I grinned as an idea came to me. I unlimbered my staff and aimed it at Isabela before she could vanish into the maze. I released the spell, creating a small glyph on Isabela's back just before I lost sight of her. I felt a pull in my gut, like a compass directing me to Isabela. I put my staff back and raced across the roof to the next one, leaping over the alley separating them with ease. I then proceeded to pursue Isabela and Sam through the maze from the rooftops, using my tracking spell to locate them.

I caught sight of Sam and Isabela and ran parallel to the alley they were in on the roof. I chased them out of the maze and through Lowtown toward the docks. I started to have to use magic to make some of the gaps as the buildings started to be spaced farther and farther apart. I saw that Sam was sprinting toward a dock around the corner and my eyes widened as I saw what wait there. Unbeknownst to Isabela, a group of armed Tevinter soldiers was waiting on a ship at the end of the dock. I pulled out my staff and pumped my legs as fast as I could. I crossed the roof and leapt off of it, useing magic to propel myself toward the Tevinters like a rocket.

The soldiers were merely lounging around, clearly waiting for the mage to return with the relic. So it was that they didn't see me shooting toward them until I plunged the blade on the end of my staff into one of the men's chest with enough force to send him and myself falling to the ground. Before any of the soldiers could react, I withdrew my staff from the dead man and spun it upwards, lopping off the head of the nearest soldier. I waved my hand at another three soldiers and spikes of ice shot out of the ground, impaling them. I ducked as one of the soldiers tried to take off my head with an ax and sliced my staff through the offending man, rending him in two. I parried another swing by a different soldier and used Stonefist to punch through the man's chest. I swung my staff backwards, driving the blade through the skull of a soldier who tried to stab me from behind while simultaneously using my hand to pump lightning through another soldier in front of me.

I looked around and saw that I had slain all the soldiers. I turned my head at the sound of running feet and saw Isabela and Sam turn the corner. Sam was looking behind him at Isabela and therefore did not see me walk halfway down the gangplank that connected the ship to shore. Isabela stopped running when she saw me and grinned. I smirked and pointed my staff out in front of me blade end first. Sam was still looking back at Isabela, trying to figure out why she was grinning when he rushed up the gangplank and ran himself straight onto the blade of my staff. Sam turned his head and looked at me with shock while trying to remove him from my staff.

"I'll take that." I said smugly as I took the large book from Sam's dying fingers. I withdrew the blade of my staff from Sam and allowed his body to fall off the gangplank and into the water below.

"Impressive." Isabela said with admiration as she closed the distance between us.

I smirked as I met her down at the bottom of the gangplank. "If you think that was impressive, you should have seen me when I took out the Tevinters guarding this boat."

"Ship," Isabela corrected "And I was talking about the fact that you managed to follow us here."

I shrugged nonchalantly but couldn't get rid of the grin plastered on my face. "I slapped a tracking spell on your ass." I waved my hand and the tracking glyph floated off her back and moved in front of her.

Isabela shook her head in amusement "You just can't help yourself sometimes."

"What can I say?" I said, releasing the mana sustaining the glyph. "Your ass is just too nice to resist."

Isabela smiled seductively at me. "I'm sure it is. So how about you give me that annoying relic and once I hand it over to Castillion I can thank you _properly._"

What I did next not only surprised Isabela, it surprised me. "No," I said taking a step backwards. "This goes back to the Qunari."

For a moment, I saw surprise flash in Isabela's eyes before she replaced it with the most lustful expression she could muster. "Why not?" She said seductively, closing the distance between us. "Don't you want to get that kiss?"

Before I could protest, Isabela grabbed the back of my neck and pressed her mouth against mine. At first I wanted to resist but _damn__it_ she's just too good. I hungrily wrapped my free arm around her and pulled her flush against me. I took in her scent, her taste, the feel of her lips against mine, everything about her that made Isabela, _Isabela_. I was so taken by the kiss that it took me a moment to realize that there was the cold touch of steel pressed against the back of my neck.

Isabela broke off the kiss and looked me in the eye, the grin gone from her face. When she spoke, it was in a whisper so soft that I almost didn't hear it. "Give me the book. _Now_."

I gaped at Isabela in pure shock, refusing to believe that she was doing this as I silently relinquished the book into her free hand. Isabela stepped back and withdrew the dagger from my neck yet still keeping it pointed at me.

"I know that returning the book to the Qunari would be the noble thing to do, Hawke," Isabela said sadly as she backed away from me. "But that would require a better soul then I posses." I thought I saw something flicker in her eyes: remorse? "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I lied to you again." With that, Isabela turned her back on me and ran.

As I watched her leave, I could have done something, said something, _anything_ to stop her, but instead I just stood there, silently, as I watched her go, my heart breaking into tiny pieces like shattered glass.

**Review**** Please!**


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